The present invention relates to a water-based inkjet ink composition.
Inkjet recording methods allow high-definition images to be recorded with relatively simple equipment, and rapid developments have been achieved in various areas. Due to revolutionary developments in inkjet recording system technology in recent years, printing methods employing inkjet recording systems are now being used even in areas of high-definition image recording for which photography and offset printing were traditionally used. In particular, there have been various proposals for inks capable of recording high-quality images on ink non-absorbing and low-absorbing recording media.
However, images recorded on ink non-absorbing and low-absorbing recording media may not be sufficiently abrasion resistant because the coloring material has a hard time penetrating the interior of the recording medium. Therefore, there has been research into improving abrasion resistance by adding to the ink resin fine particles that form a coating on the surface of the image (see for example JP-A-2015-160931).
However, because the resin fine particles contained in the ink composition disclosed in JP-A-2015-160931 are for purposes of forming a coating on the surface of the image, they normally have the property of adhering easily. Thus, problems of poor discharge stability can occur when the resin fine particles in an ink composition contained in an inkjet head once dissolve and adhere to the wall surface or the like of the inkjet head, preventing normal ink discharge. That is, there is a trade-off between the discharge stability of the ink and the abrasion resistance of the image, and therefore demand for an ink composition that can achieve both.